The Detroit Pistons tied the series at one Monday night, beating the Knicks 100-94.
Detroit came out physical and determined to beat the Knicks after collapsing in the fourth quarter of Game 1. Rebounding, defense, finishing, and bench play were some aspects in which the Pistons destroyed the Knicks in Game 2.
In Game 1, the Pistons outplayed the Knicks in some areas, but the fourth quarter and clutch time experience favored the Knicks. Even in Game 2, the Knicks stormed back due to the Pistons making terrible mistakes and gifting the Knicks points at the free-throw line.
This series is a dog fight, and the most physical team through 48 minutes will likely pull out a close victory. The Knicks are missing a lot of physicality compared to the Pistons, but have more talent to make up for the gritty style of basketball Detroit plays.
So far, the refs are letting a lot of contact go, so this would also favor the Pistons. Cade Cunningham has made great reads and plays in the first two games, receiving offensive help from Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder, and Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Knicks need better adjustments in Game 3 to win this series.
Thibodeau is forever incapable of using a stretch five.
Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 4.7 attempts from behind the arc this season, his lowest mark since 2018-19. Who was coaching him in 2018-19? Tom Thibodeau.
Towns is one of the greatest big-man shooters of all time. However, Thibs does not use Towns’ strength to the team’s advantage. Instead, they have him in post-ups and drive-throughs, which Towns excels at, but it is not his greatest strength.
This lack of game planning for your superstar resulted in a dud on Monday night and will likely continue to do so unless Thibs makes changes (which are unlikely to happen).
Some of the blame could be attributed to Towns for not driving more often. He is making the right reads on double teams, but sometimes he would have Tim Hardaway Jr. or Malik Beasley on him and not make the most of the mismatch. Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren have been the primary defenders on Towns this series, and it is understandable why the Knicks would prefer isolation against Harris
But the game plan needs to include more three-pointers— he has only shot five in two games.
Hart and Brunson’s issues on offense
It is not uncommon to see Josh Hart playing a heavy amount of minutes in these playoffs so far.
However, Hart is not making any impact on the game besides his rebounding and defense. He has become a liability on the offensive end, and the Pistons do not see him as a threat when he is on the court because he cannot shoot. This results in the fast and physical Pistons’ defenders almost always doubling Towns or Brunson in isolations.
Speaking of Jalen Brunson, it is hard to criticize him because sometimes he is the only one contributing offensively, but that is his main problem.
Brunson’s tunnel vision and foul-baiting (yes, Knicks fans can admit Brunson does foul-bait) are hurting the Knicks’ offense, and they lose valuable possessions. He does not pass enough, he dribbles out the 24-second shot clock too often, and when he does drive, he is more concerned with drawing a foul than scoring. Brunson is the least of the Knicks’ worries, but for an offense that looks messy under a coach who struggles to adjust, it does matter.
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The Bench and moving forward to Game 3
There is little variety with this Knicks roster, but Thibs still has shooters on the bench.
Replace Josh Hart with Landry Shamet or Cameron Payne for longer stints in the game. Thibs barely played Shamet and Payne, and the offense became tired and predictable as the game moved on. Cameron Payne had a great Game 1 with 14 points off the bench, but he only saw four minutes in Game 2. It makes no sense, even though Payne is only a role player.
New York should thank Detroit for allowing them to come back in the fourth quarter of Game 2— the Pistons made some awful decisions and committed stupid fouls. Without those mistakes from Detroit, this game felt more like a blowout than a six-point loss.
Hopefully, this game was a wake-up call, but it is hard to have faith in this team, which has shown little consistency, mainly because of Tom Thibodeau.
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